Building Big (Part 5) – Q&A with Terry Virgo

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What Would You Do With Leaders Who Fall Away Through Disillusionment

  • There are a variety of reasons why people do this.
  • We want to win people where they are winnable.
  • We don’t want people on a team whose heart isn’t in it – it is better to release them.
  • When it’s a personal pain it is a time to minister to them and show your care for them.
  • Because the reasons are varied, the response will also be varied.
  • When someone’s heart is no longer in the vision, you need to let them go.

When Did Newfrontiers Start and How Many Churches Is It Now?

  • It was gradual as Terry started helping different churches.
  • Initially when they needed a name they started calling it ‘Coastlands’.
  • A prophecy was given by John Groves about no well-worn paths and they came up with the name Newfrontiers to reflect this.
  • This happened in the mid-eighties.
  • Globally there are more than 1500 churches in Newfrontiers.

How Does It Work in Practice When You Leave Your Secular Job For Ministry?

  • It helped that Terry was single at the time!
  • Initially he lived on his savings – which happened for a few weeks.
  • His parents thought he was crazy giving his job up.
  • He lived by faith for two years – he never sent a prayer letter or dropped a hint, but the income came.
  • He had to pay the rent, bought ‘challenged’ newspaper to give out, paid to hire a schoolroom to meet in, pay for gas for his motorbike, etc.
  • There were no churches who were funding this kind of thing at the time – and there wasn’t much counsel given either.

What Have You Found To Be The Hardest Part of Doing What God Has Called You To?

  • The most difficult thing to deal with was a crisis that happened in India where the person on the International Team was running it very legalistically.
  • The lid came off this while Terry was in India at a conference.
  • There was a lot of opposition as Terry started planting churches– particularly from other Christians around the Brighton area.